Daniel Kaluuya should be a name you’re familiar with. The London-born star is a ‘Best Actor’ nominee at the upcoming Academy Awards for his stellar performance in the 2017 racial hit, Get Out, as well as currently starring in the superhero box-office breaker, Black Panther. At the 2018 British Academy Film Awards, Kaluuya was presented with the ‘Rising Star’ award and so the future certainly looks bright for the young British actor. Now a box-office star, Kaluuya actually began his career with some pretty memorable TV appearances. Let’s take a look at four of the most iconic …
Skins
One of Kaluuya’s first TV gigs was on British teen classic Skins. As Posh Kenneth, the actor played a secondary role in series one and two, speaking merely a few lines per episode. Interestingly though, Kaluuya was one of the main writers for Skins and took more of a behind-the-scenes role than fellow castmates.
Psychoville
Created by half of the League of Gentlemen creative team, Psychoville mixed psychological horror with sitcom. Kaluuya played thief turned carer-for-the-blind Michael Fry, nicknamed Tealeaf due to his criminal past, and whilst a secondary role once again, Kaluuya managed to shine. In a show full of comedy veterans like Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Dawn French, it speaks volumes that Kaluuya and Tealeaf are two very memorable aspects of the show.
The Fades
Also starring Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer, The Fades was a short-lived supernatural drama about a young lad who can see spirits of the dead. Kaluuya played the lead’s best-friend, Mac, whose comic-timing and goofy personality made him a great edition to the show. Unfortunately BBC failed to renew the series following its initial six episodes, leading to much dismay amongst fans.
Black Mirror
With the latest series dominating discussion about Charlie Brooker’s hit technological show, its hard to remember some of the fantastic cast members of previous episodes. Kaluuya starred in the second episode of series one, ‘Fifteen Million Merits’, where everyone lives in enclosed spaces and earns merits by riding stationary bikes. A very different role for the actor, the character of Bing and his narrative showed Kaluuya’s versatility – something he’s continuing to show off!